


Wavering

by youngavengersbigbang, Zethsaire



Category: Young Avengers
Genre: Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, Coming Out, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Internalized Homophobia, Language, Loki Does What He Wants, M/M, Mentions of past dub-con, Multi, Oral Sex, Rimming, Threesome - F/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-12
Updated: 2013-10-15
Packaged: 2017-12-29 04:42:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1001036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youngavengersbigbang/pseuds/youngavengersbigbang, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zethsaire/pseuds/Zethsaire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tommy is caught completely by surprise when Kate offers to let him join her and Noh-Varr's relationship.  It doesn't end the way he was expecting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Pine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pine/gifts).



> Beta: DangerousCommieSubversive. She's the best! She fixes all my commas. :3 Also, her original character Discord is in here, in his usual role as Avatar as Loki. Billy is learning magic from him. There is also background Billy/Teddy drama in this fic; but there is a potentially happy ending for them!
> 
>  
> 
> Based on art by Pine/Th2p:
> 
>  

“Tommy, do you want to have a threesome with Noh-Varr and I?”

Tommy absolutely does not do a spit take. He has no idea how his coffee ended up sprayed all over their donuts and the table, but he didn't do it. He was way too cool to spit beverages when propositioned by a girl he'd had a crush on for years and given up on before becoming her best friend. That was something Billy might have done. But Tommy? Nope. He was the king of cool.

“Ah. What?”

Kate looked like she was very close to laughing at him, even when she had to reach for a napkin to wipe coffee off her face. “Would you. Like. To have...sex,” she drew the word out, low and teasing, “With Noh-Varr and I.”

“Well, I can instantly say yes to at least half of that.” He replied cautiously.

Tommy and his sexuality didn't talk much. He sort of ignored it unless something happened that forced him to really examine anything, and he avoided those situations as much as possible. He...may have discovered that he liked male bodies just as much as female ones, and that it was actually _more_ satisfying to have a man between his legs begging him for their pleasure. But that wasn't really something he _examined_ about himself so much as acknowledged when he was completely sloshed.

And he didn't do threesomes. Not ever, ever again. There may or may not have been an incident where Billy got him completely drunk out of his mind, and then proceeded to tell him about Altman's twin fantasies. He also may have woken up the next day, in their bed, with only his massive hangover, a vague recollection of the night before, and Billy's heated blushes to tell him that he never, ever wanted to do that again.

Of course, Tommy and his denial could probably make an exception. This was Kate they were talking about, after all. The girl he'd really, really wanted to have sex with for practically forever. And it wasn't like he was going to have a one night stand and dump her – they were already best friends. So having a little sex on the side wouldn't hurt anything. And Kate's alien boy toy was – hot. Even Tommy couldn't repress those feelings. He was hotter than Altman, in Tommy's opinion. Instead of using shape-shifting powers to make himself handsome, (and Billy would never convince Tommy that Altman hadn't cheated, at least a little,) Noh-Varr was all-natural. The words _sculpted_ and _perfection_ came to mind. He was also older, and Kate, at least, claimed he was extremely experienced in the bedroom. Tommy could so be into that.

“I could maybe be into that...you know. If I were into guys.” Tommy said, completely failing to be nonchalant, drawing abstract shapes into the coffee still on the table. One look at Kate's face told him he wasn't fooling anyone.

“Uh huh. And would you and your non-interest in men be available for something, say, next Friday night?”

“That soon?!” Tommy didn't squeak. Really.

Kate smirked. “Would you like me to take you to dinner first?”

“Well...” Tommy covered his embarrassment by drawling, “I wouldn't want you to think I was _easy._ ”

“I've made reservations for seven; I'll send you your clothes and a formal invitation by the end of the week.” Kate responded instantly, which meant she'd totally planned this whole thing out, dammit.

He opened his mouth, and then closed it again. Kate had that evil smile on that she got when she knew she was going to get her way and there wasn't a damn thing you could do about it. He blushed and went back to drawing circles in the cold coffee. “Sure, sure. I can always use new clothes, right? Should I even bother telling you my sizes?”

“Tommy, I made your costume.”

“Right. Yeah. Okay then. So I'll...see you Friday?”

“See you then.” And she leaned over the table and gave him a kiss, right on the lips. It was quick, but for Tommy it lasted hours, and he could still feel the warm press of her lips against his long after she left.

Eventually he realized he was sitting at a table covered in coffee, alone, so he sort of wiped it down half-assedly, and left a five dollar tip to cover the waitress' time when she cleaned it up. He was way too wound up from everything to just go home, or even go to class, which started in another three hours. He worked as a legal consultant for a few different mutant groups in the city, and he usually put in late hours, working during the day and going to school at night. There was no way he'd be able to do anything useful before then so after .03 seconds of deliberation, he took off towards London.

xxx

 

Billy worked at the only legitimate magic shop in all of London. Tommy had sat through more lectures than he'd ever wanted about how most magic shops were for 'tourists,' or 'goth posers.' Apparently Discord owned the shop with one of his assistants, but was rarely in the shop itself. It pleased him to have a real magic shop around, or something. He had several classes full of promising magically-inclined humans that he encouraged to develop into full magic users, and Billy wasn't the only male witch that he was teaching.

His brother worked there constantly. If Billy wasn't in class or at private lessons with Loki, he was at the shop. Personally, Tommy thought he used it as a substitute for pursuing any kind of romantic relationship. He and Altman had broken up over a year ago, and Billy hadn't found a long-term boyfriend since then. That might have had something to do with the fact that he practically lived at Loki and Discord's house, and if anyone was going to scare off potential boyfriends, Loki would be the one to do it. When your father figure was the Norse god of chaos, talk of shotguns didn't even need to come into the picture.

Tommy _liked_ Loki. He couldn't help it. His mutation lent itself to making a huge fucking mess, and he got a visceral sort of pleasure out of blowing things up and causing chaos. The fact that Loki was insanely intelligent, witty with the sort of dry, dark humor that Tommy appreciated, and actually treated Tommy like a _person_ , instead of something someone scraped off their shoe, went a long way towards his love of the god. And maybe it was all an act to get him to join Loki's church, but Loki didn't really seem like that kind of a god. A liar and a trickster and a total douche sometimes, yes, but then again, so was Tommy. Loki wanted to be worshiped for who he _was—_ if he tricked people into it, it wasn't any fun. Plus, the horrified look on Billy's face when he'd brought up joining the church made everything worth it.

So when Tommy stepped inside _Practical Magic_ , and was assaulted with the smell of incense and old books and the electric tang of magic, he wasn't at all surprised to see Billy behind the counter, talking avidly to another young male witch. They were both gesturing excitedly, drawing symbols in the air and occasionally referencing one of the dozen books they had open on the counter between them. Tommy darted forward enough for Billy to see him, and then withdrew to look around the shop until they were finished talking.

He never got bored of visiting the shop, even if he did get annoyed when Billy went on and on about whatever magical thing he'd learned about that week. The shop always had something new in; imports from Salem or African voodoo, or displays on Eastern herbal medicine. It was like visiting a magical museum. There were also charms with chaos symbols on them that Discord made personally as the Avatar of Loki. They were the real deal, and Billy wouldn't sell them to just anyone. He had one on a bracelet on his wrist, but then again, Billy had about two hundred charms on him at all times, all apparently carrying some magical importance, either to protect himself or protect everyone else from his magic. Tommy hadn't really paid much attention, but he still wore the pendant Billy had made for him after he'd almost scorched Tommy with his magic when he'd lost control. He didn't know what the little symbol meant, but it carried some serious magical protection against not only Billy's magic, but anyone who used chaos-influenced sorcery, and it had saved Tommy's life on more than one occasion. He never took it off.

Eventually the other witch left with a bag full of books and Billy's phone number written on his arm. Tommy watched the guy go - he was tall and slim and had ridiculous amounts of long, thick black hair and clear pale skin that would make women weep in envy. He wasn't Tommy's type at all, not that he had a type when it came to guys, but Billy had a love-struck expression on his face.

"His name is Saer," Billy said dreamily, "He's Welsh."

Oh boy. "Won't Loki just scare him off?"

Billy made a face. "He's in Simon's modern magic class, he knows who my mentor is."

"Knowing doesn't really prepare people for what Loki is like in person."

"Well. He doesn't know it's Loki precisely. He knows Simon lives with Lukas, an extremely sexy German man. So...that could cause problems. Anyway. Please tell me you didn't run all the way here to dig on my pathetic love life."

"No. I actually came here for help with mine."

"You want my help with your love life?" Billy was surprised. "I'm not sure my area of expertise is really applicable to you."

"Yeah...about that." Tommy shuffled nervously. "Kate wants me to have a threesome with her and Noh-Varr."

Billy's eyebrows shot up into his hairline. "What?"

"Yeah that's pretty much what I said."

Tommy felt distinctly uncomfortable when Billy went to the door and flipped the sign to 'closed' and locked the door and set the wards. Billy pulled him into the back of the shop where he had an office. He cleared stacks of books off the two worn chairs and pushed Tommy down into one. This was so not what Tommy had wanted.

"Spill."

"I don't - there's nothing to say. I've wanted to date Kate for practically forever. She brought it up when we went out for coffee today. Just out of nowhere."

"And are you going to?"

Tommy turned bright red. "I don't know. Probably. We have a dinner date next Friday."

"And you're freaking out about it."

"Yes!" Tommy practically shouted, jumping to his feet and pacing. "I'm barely comfortable admitting to myself that I might find men attractive. The last threesome I had was with you and Altman and I - I can't be responsible for breaking someone up again."

Billy's face was sad with remembered pain. "Tommy, you didn't break us up."

"No? Because we all slept together and then everything was weird and you guys broke up a month later. If I just hadn't gotten so fucking drunk -"

"It wasn't your fault." Billy said firmly. "Teddy and I had a lot of other shit going on, and yeah, maybe that night shouldn't have happened, and it certainly didn't go the way I'd planned, but that's not why we split. Are you really still blaming yourself after all this time?"

Tommy just looked at the floor miserably. "You're not happy any more."

"Hey." His twin fixed him with a hard stare, his eyes flowing that ethereal blue that meant he was completely serious. "I'm plenty happy, and last I checked, Teddy was doing good too. So stop blaming yourself for our problems, okay?"

Tommy just nodded.

"Besides, Kate is a woman who knows what she wants, so if she wants a threesome with you, it's going to be a whole other situation than what happened with us. And you really like her, right? I mean, you guys have been best friends forever."

"Yeah. Kate's great. She puts up with my shit."

"See? So go have a good time Friday night. Be open and honest - don't let them drag you into sex you're not ready for. Have fun, for fuck's sake. One of us should be getting laid at least."

Tommy blushed again. "Watch out there, little bro. I think college is making you as foul-mouthed as me."

Billy smacked him. "Oh, get out of here. Don't you have class or something?"

Tommy looked at the clock and did a second's worth of calculations. "Fuck, I'm going to be late! Bye!"

xxx

Class and work kept him fairly busy during the next week. He popped over to see Billy a few times, found out he'd had a date with the hot Welsh guy - Tommy had already forgotten his name - and that Loki wanted him to come over for dinner at some point. Hopefully that wouldn't be the time that Loki choose to evaluate Billy's new boyfriend because really, no one needed to see that.

He'd had coffee with Kate again, like they did every Tuesday, except usually she didn't bring him Armani tuxes with deep green dress shirts made from Egyptian cotton. She'd even gotten him shoes, perfectly tailored of course, because he was picky about his footwear, and she didn't want him showing up in his battered but perfectly broken in Converse shoes. Everyone in the shop had stared at them. It was mortifying.

So here he was, dressed in clothes that probably cost more than a month's worth of his rent, waiting by the curb to be picked up for dinner. It was not a situation that really helped soothe his nerves, even though he'd run all the way up to Alaska and back before he'd showered and dressed for his date. Better to be out here on the curb than have Kate and Noh-Varr come up to his apartment though. It wasn't a complete shit hole, but he didn't spend a lot of time there, and it was a cheap subsidized apartment in Mutant town, which meant water you really shouldn't drink and cracks in the walls and cockroaches you had to spray for every two weeks.

A sleek black limo pulled up to the curb and the back door opened. Kate was inside, in a gorgeous purple strapless dress. Noh-Varr was on her left side, in a similar tux to Tommy's, except he had on a blue shirt that matched his eyes, and black combat boots instead of tailored shoes. Tommy also caught the glint of gold around Noh-Varr's wrists when he waved at Tommy.

"Hey." He said, sliding into the car a little ungracefully. He hoped he didn't sound as nervous as he felt.

"Relax, Tommy." Kate said, because of course she saw right through him. She leaned forward and have him a kiss, quite a bit more intimate than the last one they'd shared, involving, among other things, tongue.

"Wow." He said when she pulled away. "Maybe I _am_ a little easier than I thought."

Noh-Varr looked puzzled for a moment, as he worked through the strange use Tommy had put to the word 'easy.' He spoke English so well it was hard to remember it was an alien language to him. But when Noh-Varr broke out in a wide grin Tommy knew he'd figured it out.

"May I also help you relax?" He asked, leaning across Kate to kiss Tommy as well.

All thoughts of trying to explain his sexuality to Noh-Varr vanished when the Kree proved that his kissing was even better than his English. By the end of it Tommy was ready to just skip dinner and go make out somewhere. Or here even. The limo had tinted windows. It wasn't like anyone would see them.

But Kate could tell he was thinking that too. "It won't be a long dinner, Tommy. You can wait."

"If I have to, " he said wistfully.

"You do."

Tommy made a face and then settled back against the seat. He could have run to California and back in the time it took them to get to the restaurant, but he would have ruined his clothes, and anyways traffic in the city was always awful. So he listened to Kate and Noh-Varr talk, still buzzed out from the physical contact. Sensation, especially pleasurable sensation, tended to overwhelm him easily. It made getting hurt a bitch, but he probably had the best afterglow on the entire planet.

He'd mostly sobered up by the time they got to the restaurant, though he had a sneaking suspicion he still had a stupid grin on his face. The restaurant was one of those places that he would have been distinctly uncomfortable eating in about three years ago. Of course then he'd reconnected with his grandfather, and Erik had taken him to quite a few high end establishments, showing him how to speak, how to hold what piece of cutlery, and generally how to behave in public. He still wasn't comfortable in a high class setting, but he could get through a meal without looking like an idiot.

Noh-Varr looked far less comfortable, and even though he put on a good face, his shoulders drew together in a tense line when he saw how crowded the place was. He started badly when Kate placed a hand on his elbow to follow the maitre'd back to their table. He seemed a little less tense when they were led to a private booth in the back that had a clear view of two exits. Noh-Varr sat in the corner of the booth, so he had his back to two walls, which seemed to make him happier. Tommy skid into the booth on the other side and Kate sat down next to him, leaving the way between Noh-Varr and the door unobstructed. Tommy didn't remember him being so paranoid the last time he'd seen him, but it had been a while and it wasn't like Tommy really kept track of what happened to him. Still, Tommy should talk to him about it some time. He specialized in legal suits for people who would otherwise have no representation, and while he didn't usually represent aliens, he'd make an exception in Noh-Varr's case. No one deserved to look that worried that agents might pop out of the woodwork and grab him.

Tommy let Kate order for them, because he figured that would please her, and while he could read a menu in French, he'd never been to this specific restaurant and thus didn't know their specialties. Plus Kate was paying. He did suggest a nice wine to accompany their meal though, which seemed to please her and also got a smile from Noh.

They spent the next few hours conversing and eating the various parts of the seven course meal Kate had ordered. Noh-Varr had slowly relaxed as the night wore on and nothing horrible happened, and told some really hilarious jokes that were even funnier because he kept mixing his metaphors. By the end of the evening, Tommy was ready to consider their date a success, and was more than happy to pile back into the limo to head back to Kate's penthouse and her enormous bed.

Noh-Varr leapt on him in the elevator that led up to Kate's penthouse. Tommy couldn't even protest as Noh-Varr grabbed him by the hips and pulled them together. By the time they reached the top floor, Tommy's shirt was untucked, one of Noh-Varr's hands was up underneath it, his other hand caressing the inside of Tommy's thighs, Noh-Varr's tongue was down his throat, and he didn't even want to protest any more. Why hadn't they done this before again?

Kate unlocked the door for them and Noh-Varr practically carried Tommy into the bedroom. He got thrown down into the bed and Noh-Varr was un-buttoning his shirt before he could even speak. Kate laid down on the bed beside him, having already taken off her dress, clad in a corset, lacy underwear and garters. She pressed kisses to his neck and throat, and wrapped her leg around his. When Noh-Varr opened Tommy's shirt and started kissing and licking his way down Tommy's chest, Kate tilted his head so she could kiss him, pulling his hands over to her breasts, her hands joining Noh-Varr's to caress his skin.

All thoughts of positions or insecurities about joining in on what was normally a private act between Kate and Noh-Varr flew out of his head, and he was swamped in pleasure. His pants were down around his ankles now, and he heard Kate saying something about how Tommy was multi orgasmic - how did she know? - before Noh-Varr's head was between his legs and the Kree was making him come with his extremely talented tongue.

Tommy just laid there, buzzing in afterglow, and watched Kate and Noh-Varr make out. He got hard again watching them undress each other, their hands everywhere, Noh-Varr kissing her enthusiastically everywhere his tongue could reach. Tommy groaned and reached down to stroke himself when Kate pushed Noh-Varr down into his knees and he leaned into her to eat her out.

Kate made the most amazing noises, and almost yanked out Noh-Varr's hair she was gripping so hard. Tommy had to agree. He'd just had that tongue on him, and it was good. Kate came with a shout, and then Noh-Varr was back on his feet and grinning, kissing him with a mouth that tasted like Kate's pussy.

It was pretty obvious at this point that Tommy's body was willing but his brain had short circuited. Neither Kate or Noh-Varr seemed to mind, and it wasn't like Tommy had kept the effects of his mutation a secret from Kate. She was his best friend; he'd complained more than once about being completely overwhelmed in the bedroom.

He didn't feel overwhelmed now; he just felt good. They included him without making him the complete focus of their touches; put themselves deliberately within his reach so he could stroke or kiss or lick without having to move much. It was ironic that the mutation that made him fidget the rest of the time made him almost completely shut down in a situation like this, where there was just so much stimulation that he was trying to process all at once.

They finally ended up in a situation where Kate was straddling him, slowly fucking herself on his cock and making him groan in ecstasy. Noh-Varr was standing on the edge of the bed, and took her from behind, making her cry out when he buried himself in her with a growl that sent a shiver of pleasure through him.

Tommy could feel Noh-Varr moving inside Kate at the same time that she was thrusting herself on him, and he couldn't help the series of gasps that poured out of him as Noh-Varr took her over and over.

Kate was the focus. Noh-Varr was panting with the effort of keeping back his orgasm before Kate had finished. Tommy couldn't hold back, but he didn't need to, which was honestly the best thing about his mutation. He came three more times before Kate gripped him hard between her thighs, and let out the sexiest moan he'd ever heard while she spasmed around his cock in ecstasy. Noh-Varr groaned as well, thrusting twice more before finishing with a deep vibrating sound that shook the walls.

They all collapsed on the bed afterwords, Noh-Varr muttering to Kate in his native language while she smiled and soothed back his hair. When he'd finally regained his grasp of English, Noh-Varr summed up the entire experience by saying,

“That was fantastic. We should do this again some time.”

“Mmm,” was all Tommy said, snuggling up to the warmest thing next to him, which happened to be Noh-Varr's chest. Noh-Varr made a pleased sound, and draped an arm around Tommy's shoulders.

A few seconds later Tommy's eyes flew open. Well shit. He'd been hooked.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted all at once for the YARBB, so the first chapter's notes apply. :3

Chapter 2

They had their second threesome a few weeks later. Kate had offered to make it more than a one time deal, and Tommy thought about it for a while before finally accepting. He'd genuinely had a good time, and Kate and Noh-Varr had been completely comfortable about having him in their bed. He'd felt like he was part of something, instead of being outside of it. And the sex was amazing, of course.

For the next month, every time Tommy and Kate went out for coffee, she'd bring him an incredibly expensive outfit and tell him where they were going for dinner. Sometimes they went out to the opera, or a club, and once they took a carriage ride around the city that was much more exciting than Tommy thought it would be, mostly because Noh-Varr gave him a hand job under the fur coverlet laid across their legs.

They always ended up in bed afterwords, Kate between Tommy and Noh-Varr. It was always good, and Tommy didn't even notice that Noh-Varr started taking the lead more, spending more time kissing him, touching him, even coaxing Tommy to his knees to give him head. He didn't normally do that, but there was just something about Noh-Varr that enthralled him. His dick tasted amazing; he was obviously alien. The taste and texture were different - not bad, Noh-Varr had an amazing cock - but definitely not human.

Suffice it to say that it all led here, to having Noh-Varr on one side off him and Kate on the other, and Noh-Varr's husky voice asking, "Would you be in the middle tonight, Tommy?"

Kate immediately spoke up. "We agreed we wouldn't ask him."

Noh-Varr's eyes were filled with want and heat. Before Noh-Varr could apologize or take it back, Tommy blurted out - "No, I want to."

"Really?" Noh-Varr asked, and immediately devoured Tommy's mouth.

Kate rubbed her hand along his thighs, and Tommy groaned in pleasure that traveled up his legs and pooled in his groin. Noh-Varr kept up his oral assault, and ran a hand down Tommy's chest, across his hips and down to join Kate's between his legs.

"Oh!" He gasped. If this had been their first threesome, Tommy would be embarrassed at how easy he was. At this point, they'd had sex enough that Tommy didn't mind letting himself go and just enjoying it, since he was going to anyway.

"You're so much fun, Tommy." Noh-Varr said. "I'll be careful with you, I promise. Have you done this before?"

It was difficult to string words together when he was being overwhelmed in sensation, but he forced himself to respond. "I've done it before. I rarely enjoy it but something - oh! Something tells me I'm going to enjoy this."

Noh-Varr's smile was almost diabolical. "Oh, you will."

Kate didn't say anything, though she did take Noh-Varr's place at Tommy's mouth, kissing him with a mix of aggression and seduction that only Kate could manage. Noh-Varr kissed his way down Tommy's body and gave a passing lick to Tommy's cock, before turning Tommy on his side.

Kate took Noh-Varr's place again, so that her head was between his legs and her pussy was right in front of Tommy's mouth. His head was already swimming with sensation, sparks running up and down his body as his mutation tried to process everything at once. The smell of both his lovers, the feel of Kate's tongue on him, Noh-Varr's hands gripping his thighs behind him. He reached out and gripped Kate's firm ass and tilted his head back, to see if he could get his tongue inside her from this angle. He could, and the sounds she made were delicious.

He yelped when he felt Noh-Varr's tongue on his ass. It felt - really good. He'd gone down on a man before, but never like that. It might have happened with the last threesome he'd had - Altman had zero concept of personal space, and he vaguely remembered the Skrull's tongue going, well, everywhere. But he didn't like thinking about that, and especially not when he was in bed with someone else.

He lost track of Noh-Varr for a moment, before he felt cool, lubricated fingers ghosting between his legs, and hot breath against his back. Kate was clearly trying to distract him with her mouth, and she would be doing a fantastic job, except Tommy felt everything, all the time. He was capable of processing everything, all at the same time, so instead of a distraction, the feel of her tongue against the underside of his cock, and Noh-Varr's slowly moving fingers just sort of swam together into one aching sensation that sent shudders down his spine.

Noh-Varr believed in thorough prep, apparently. He spent more than ten minutes stretching Tommy out, putting his other hand to use on Tommy's ass and thighs, and judging from the feel of his teeth, leaving marks all across Tommy's back. He would have said something about how he didn't need as much foreplay as a normal person, what with his mutation and everything, but he was too busy drowning in pleasure to really function at that point.

There was every chance he'd stopped reciprocating and was just laying there on the bed making embarrassing noises, but if he was, no one seemed to mind. He vaguely processed Noh-Varr moving him so that he was standing on the edge of the bed, facing Kate, who'd come down to the edge of the mattress and spread her legs for his very interested dick. He just sort of moaned when Noh-Varr lined him up and placed his hands on either side of her, bracing him in the perfect position to thrust. He stared down at Kate who was grinning at him, and saying something that he really couldn't process, because all his other senses were immediately overwhelmed by the sensation of Noh-Varr taking him from behind, and causing him to move forward into Kate's absolutely amazing heat. He had a fleeting thought that he hoped he hadn't hurt her, but then, Noh-Varr had been with her for quite some time, and they probably knew what they were doing.

It was nothing like the threesome he'd had with Billy and Altman, even if he hadn't blocked out most of those memories from his mind. Noh-Varr knew how to fuck, that was for sure. Tommy really rathered to be on top, most of the time, but the way Noh-Varr kept hitting his prostate over and over, switching up the pace so that neither of them came immediately sort of made Tommy want to bottom for him more often. If, you know, he was into that sort of thing.

And Kate's pussy was – divine. He'd always really liked pussy, even when he realized that yeah, dick was pretty great too. Kate was responsive – she didn't just lay there and take it. Honestly, it was more like both of them were fucking him; which was something he normally wouldn't have said he was really into but this – yeah, this was good.

Usually good sex seemed to end far before Tommy was ready for it to; something about the overwhelming pleasure being similar to a drug trip, with a memorable beginning and end but just sort of hazy in-between. This wasn't like that. Maybe it was the way Noh-Varr started swearing in his ear in Kree, saying the filthiest things from the few words Tommy could make out. Or maybe it was the sounds that Kate made, or the way she locked her legs around his and Noh-Varr's hips and fucked him just as hard as he was fucking her. Either way, instead of drifting away, he stayed remarkably coherent throughout the entire thing.

He also had the sneaking suspicion that they were trying to wear him out, because after at least an hour of fucking, he'd come upwards of eight times, and when they were finally done with him, he collapsed on the bed, completely and utterly exhausted. It was wonderful. He hadn't felt that worn out outside of an epic battle, well, ever. Add to that the fact that he was mostly asleep on Kate's ample chest, with Noh-Varr curled up behind him muttering alien things in his ear and it could even be said that he fell asleep completely content, for once in his life.

xxx

The next week, Kate canceled on him for coffee. He was confused, but not hurt, because he didn't get hurt. Of course not. Especially not when sexy female friends he'd been fucking for a few months canceled on their date for the first time in three years. So he distracted himself with work; midterms were only a few weeks away, and he wanted to make sure he'd put enough work hours in to meet his requirements. That's all it was. He wasn't pining, or anything. Maximoffs didn't pine.

He usually volunteered at a local center for mutant youth on Saturdays, but he went in that week on Tuesday, so he wouldn't have to think about the fact that Kate had canceled on him. He even volunteered to stay after the center was closed and work through a stack of paperwork that no one had had the time to go through yet. He was just coming out of the office, intent on going home, when he literally ran into Noh-Varr in the hallway, wearing a black sleeveless tank top and basketball shorts. He had apparently been working with the kids in the gym.

"You volunteer here too? I've never run into you here before." Tommy tried not to sound too skeptical.

Noh-Varr shrugged. "Different schedules, I guess. I've been mentoring the children here for quite some time."

"Really?"

Noh-Varr looked hurt. "Do you not think I am capable of mentoring others?"

"No, I didn't - that's not what I meant," Tommy said. "You've said you have trouble fitting in, you know, on Earth, so -"

"The children also have trouble 'fitting in.' I mentor not only mutant children but displaced alien children as well, who were not raised human as young Dorrek was."

"Teddy hates being called that."

Noh-Varr nodded. "He has no idea what it means to be either Skrull or Kree, and so he tries to be neither. He is not human, and would be happier if he stopped trying to pretend he is something he is not."

"He's a shapeshifter; pretending to be something else is sort of what he does."

"I mentor many alien children who wish to blend in with human society. If they are young enough they achieve this by adopting Earth customs as their own. But the most successful pupils embrace that they are not human, and so do not suffer as much when they are inevitably rejected for what they are."

"You're teaching them to accept rejection? Noh-Varr, that goes against everything we're fighting for! We want mutants to be accepted as just as human as everyone else! If you're teaching them to just accept that they're not -"

"I am not human!" Noh-Varr roared, "And I should not have to be one to be respected! That is what I teach my students, mutant or alien! To embrace what makes them different, not to hide what makes them special."

"You'd get along with my grandfather," Tommy murmured.

"I apologize that I lost my temper," Noh-Varr said flatly. "I do not like humans, and I certainly don't want to become one."

Tommy thought about the way Noh-Varr had looked when they rescued him from the Cube, and said nothing.

When he had calmed down enough to speak rationally, he said, "I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to insult you. I wouldn't want you to be human. You're fine the way you are."

Noh-Varr gave him a feral smile.

"Could I make it up to you? We could go out - just the two of us. And maybe I could sit in on a group mentoring session with your kids. I don't work with alien youth much, but I'd like to."

"I would like that. If you are feeling adventurous, there is a place that I know that serves decent foreign cuisine."

The was he said foreign made Tommy realize he wasn't talking about Chinese food. But if Noh-Varr could eat Earth food, Tommy could handle some alien cooking. And he sort of owed it to Noh-Varr–defending people's rights was his business, and yet he'd still managed to make a complete ass of himself.

"Sure. I'm game. When are you free?"

"Friday is the traditional day for dates, is it not? I'm free this Friday evening, and the best specials are always served on Fridays."

"Yeah, Friday's good," he said, making a note to reschedule his work meeting. "I'll meet you around seven?"

"I will text you my address. I won't be picking you up in a limo as Kate does."

"That's fine. I'd rather do that anyway. Riding in limos makes me uncomfortable."

Noh-Varr was starting at him intently. Tommy blushed and scrubbed a hand through his hair. Did he have something on his face?

"May I kiss you?" Noh-Varr asked.

"What? Here? Now?"

"All the children have gone. It's just us," the Kree said, moving closer and putting a hand on Tommy's shoulder.

"Um. Sure." It wasn't like they hadn't kissed before. You know, when they were having sex together. Yes, Kate was there too, but he'd let Noh-Varr fuck him so, really, what was a kiss after that?

Noh-Varr leaned in and pressed his lips to Tommy's gently at first, like he was trying not to frighten him off. Then his kiss grew firmer, tongue pushing into Tommy's mouth. Tommy let him, and couldn't help a little moan of pleasure as Noh-Varr did incredible things with his tongue. He'd had that tongue all over Tommy - he'd had it in Tommy - and that alone was enough to make Tommy shudder in pleasure.

When Noh-Varr pulled away, he went after him for the briefest second before he pulled himself away. “Wow. That was. Um. Yeah. Friday?”

Noh-Varr gave him a lecherous smile, and Tommy all but bolted out. He _had_ to talk to Billy.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Getting dragged off to dinner with Simon and Loki was _not_ what Tommy had in mind. In fact, since Billy's annoyingly sexy Welsh boyfriend was attending, he'd very much prefer not to be there at all. Sure, watching Loki rip Billy's boyfriends a new one was usually entertaining, but not when he was quite possibly having a gay crisis. As in, he really thought he might be into guys. As in – he really thought he might be more into Noh-Varr than he'd originally been intending, and was looking forward to Friday even though Kate wouldn't be there at all.

Simon was excellent to ask for romantic advice, of course. But he was also the most flamboyant man Tommy'd ever come across, and while that worked for him, it wasn't really Tommy's thing, per se. He couldn't just up and let his gayness out there, like Simon did. Hell, the man had flirted with _Bruce Banner_. That had probably just been to mess with him, since Simon was more loyal to Loki than it was probably healthy to be, but _still_. Tommy certainly wasn't going to go winking at the Hulk any time soon.

Not to mention all of Simon's attention this evening would be making sure that Loki didn't smite Billy's boyfriend where he sat. None of his students really knew he was Discord, or that the intimidating German god of a boyfriend he had was actually the Norse god of chaos. Though from the slightly glazed look on his face, it looked like Saer may have just sussed that one out and was having a rather intense spiritual experience right on the sidewalk.

They managed to all get inside, get their coats off, and sit down to dinner – fish, in a creamy white sauce, with a salad that had so many different things in it that Tommy wasn't really sure it could be called _salad_ anymore, and thick, home made bread for a side. And wine, to complement the meal. Before Tommy could really get to enjoy his food, Loki started in on Saer, as he was expecting.

"What makes you qualified to date Billy?" Loki asked, glowing down at Saer.

"I'm probably not," the witch said with a smile. He'd apparently shaken off his awe. "I'm not sure you'd think anyone was qualified to date him."

Loki scowled, and Simon chuckled. "He's got you there, divine one."

"I want to be with Billy because he's smart and funny and extremely talented. And I think he could use a little more fun in his life."

"Does that mean you don't intend to take this relationship seriously?"

Saer snorted. "I don't intend to ask him to marry me if that's what you mean. Someone hurt him badly, I know that. I want to keep it casual. We like each other, the sex is amazing, why does it need to be more than that?"

Billy turned bright red, but Loki looked like he was considering something. Finally he sniffed and said, "Alright."

"What, really?!" Billy exclaimed.

"Yes, really."

"But - but, you've turned down all my other boyfriends!"

"I do not want anything to come between you and your studies, which all those other baffoons would have done. But you do deserve some fun, so, have fun. Do not be late for your lessons."

Billy opened and closed his mouth a few times, looking rather like a fish. Then he shook his head and smiled, and went back to his food. The rest of the meal was rather pleasant; no one really said much of anything because they were all still pretending Loki's name was actually Lukas. Simon had just cleared the table of all the dishes, and was about to bring out desert when Tommy couldn't keep it in any longer.

“I think I'm gay,” he blurted out, without really thinking about it.

Loki let out an aggravated sigh. “Not another one. Bobby, what _is_ it about you that makes young men constantly declare such things at my dinner table? No – don't answer that. Just put my pie on that plate and send it to my room. I'm sure you don't want me giving him my advice anyways.” And he strode away from the dinner table and off to the private part of the house.

After he'd gone Saer let out a woosh of breath. “Oh, my literal god. I just sassed _Loki_.”

Simon had come out with pie – apple; he'd baked it himself – and ice cream on little plates, and he put one in front of each of them. “I think he rather enjoyed it. It's not often anyone actually challenges him. Of course, most of the time he smites them, but he knows you're in the church, darling, and that _does_ mean something to him. He does care about his followers, you know. In his own way. I suggest doing something to please him – he responds ever so well to bribery.”

“Yeah, I'll do that. Um. Not to be rude, or anything, but it looks like you might have a family discussion that needs to happen, so could I get this to go?”

Simon smiled and waved his hand, and then Saer's pie was boxed up and ready to go. “Come again love. Bring chocolate – he has a terrible sweet tooth. Billy does too, for that matter.”

“Thanks, I will. And thank you for the dinner, by the way. It was lovely.” He leaned down and kissed Billy on the lips. “I'll call you, okay?”

“Sure.” Billy's grin was dazzling.

Once the Welshman was gone, they both rounded on him. Billy opened his mouth first.

“What happened with Kate?”

Tommy flushed. “Nothing! I just – I mean. Aw, fuck, I don't know. Everything's been fine, and then last week I let them both fuck me and it was really good and now – she canceled on me for coffee. Two weeks in a row. And now I've got a date with Noh-Varr and – I'm really excited about it. And, I don't know!”

“You're afraid you broke them up.”

“Yes!”

“Well, you didn't.”

“How do _you_ know?”

Billy gave him a withering glare. “Kate talks to me too, you know. Frequently. I learned way more about your sex life than I cared to.”

“You're not even on the same continent -”

“We text.”

“Bloody hell.”

“Anyways; Noh-Varr and Kate have never been serious. They're more like BFF with a little extra on the side,” Billy's explanation made Simon chuckle, “and anyways, Kate probably has a girlfriend.”

“Girl-” Tommy spluttered, and then interrupted himself to say, “probably?”

“Miss America Chavez. I don't suppose you know her?”

Tommy gave him a withering look right back.

“Right, well they met, oh, about two weeks ago I guess. She's been texting me _constantly_.”

“It's true,” Simon chimed in, “I had to take his phone away in class.”

“So I'm pretty sure she's seeing if it's going to go anywhere before making any decisions. Anyways, you guys weren't dating were you?”

“ _I_ don't know. I never asked them to define it. We just went out once a week and had sex afterwords.”

Billy narrowed his eyes. “Sounds rather like dating to me. Do I need to kick her ass for you?”

“No! God, no. I just – it's just that Noh-Varr -”

“You're having a gay crisis?” Simon summed up neatly.

Tommy groaned and put his head in his hands. “Yes.”

“You've been sleeping with him for two months,” Billy pointed out, “What's the problem? You've known you like guys for ages.”

“I didn't! I mean I – it's just. I really like him. I think. I guess. I don't know. We're going out, just the two of us. And he'll probably expect to get laid after; we always do. And I don't know if I'm ready to just...”

“But you've dated guys before.”

“Dated is a loose term.”

“Slept with, whatever.”

Tommy just flushed, and didn't say anything.

“Is it possible you took a more...proactive role with those other men?” Simon asked delicately.

“Oh. Ooooh.” Billy said. “You bottom with him. And it freaks you out.”

“YES!” Tommy exclaimed, almost leaping out of his seat. “He makes me fucking melt into the mattress, o-fucking-kay?! God! I – I can't talk about this. I'm going to run laps around the Earth until I pass out.”

“Tommy don't -”

But he was already gone.

xxx

Tommy finally collapsed in his own bed after running about six laps around the entire planet. It wouldn't be possible for most people, but Pietro and Tommy could both run fast enough to get traction on water. One lap around the Earth didn't really tire him out, but enough of them would. And he had built in GPS tracking to help him stay straight and not lose his way. He'd only taken a world-wide run one time without it, and he'd ended up in the middle of Africa somewhere.

He slept fitfully, unable to really settle down even though he was exhausted. It took him hours to calm down his mind enough to sleep, and then he kept waking up every half hour or so. Finally at seven the next morning, he just gave up. He stumbled out of bed and got dressed, everything seeming to move in slow motion. When he was tired, his mutation had a tendancy to overpower him; making him lose his sense of processed time. The world just moved so _slow_ , and that only made him more cranky.

It took him ages to get dressed and get out of the door, though really it was only fifteen minutes or so. He needed coffee, imminently. Stimulants usually sped people up, but it let Tommy wake up so his brain could process speed properly. And the best coffee in the city just happened to be right next to Midtown Comics, where Altman worked. Tommy knew he must be truly desperate to want to talk to the Skrull. Things had been strained between them since the threesome, to say the least. Still, Teddy had experienced similar problems when coming out - he'd never really seemed as comfortable in his sexuality as Billy had. And he was half Kree, so maybe he could give Tommy some insight. Or sex tips, or something. Jesus. He really needed some coffee.

Somehow he made it to the coffee shop. He got an extra large mocha with triple espresso, three donuts, two scones and a bagel. He had a huge metabolism, okay?

Burdened with an armful of baked goods, he collapsed at a table and ate all three donuts while sipping his espresso with the lid off so it would cool. After three hundred and sixty-seven stirs, he decided it was cool enough, and drank the entire thing in two gulps. Then he had to get a refill, so he'd have something to drink with his scones.

By the time he'd finished all his food, he was feeling much better. The world had sped up to match speeds with him, or he'd slowed down - either way, he didn't feel like he was swimming through molasses any more. Time to suck it up and ask Teddy for advice.

Technically the comic shop wasn't open yet, but Tommy knew Teddy would be inside stocking and sorting comics. So he pulled out his phone - he still had Teddy's number, just in case - and typed:

**Let me in, Altman.**

Sure enough, two minutes, twenty-nine seconds later, Teddy came to the door, looked at him strangely, and then sighed and opened the door. He probably thought Tommy was here to punch him again or something. Though really, it'd only been the one time, and he'd deserved it, breaking Billy's heart like that. Besides, he healed fast.

"So...is everything okay?" Teddy asked after he'd gone inside.

"Everything's peachy, Altman."

"Err - is Billy -?"

"Billy's fantastic. Dating some Welsh bloke who told Loki where to shove it when he tried to break them up. It's all fantastic."

Okay,, so maybe he wasn't really over the whole thing. Teddy looked a little hurt, but he nodded. He gestured around at the shop before shoving his hands in his pockets.

"So, why are you here then? I'm kind of busy."

"You're not busy. You like reading all the new releases before you put them up on the shelf."

Teddy flushed. "I'm careful with them. But seriously, Tommy, what's going on?"

This time Tommy sighed and crouched low, eying all the boxes of new merchandise that Teddy had been in the process of putting away. "I need some advice."

"You want advice from me? Tommy, you don't even like me."

"I know!" he snapped, "but it isn't like I have a ton of gay friends, and talking to Billy has been bloody useless so far."

Teddy sat down on the floor next to him, crossing his legs, and peering at him. "What do you need to talk to a gay man for? I thought - I mean after we -" he flushed, "you said you never wanted to do that again."

"Well, maybe I lied. I do lie you know. I'vebeen knowntolie frequently."

"Now I know you're freaking out - mashing your sentences together like that."

"Yes I'm freaking out! I'm having a gay crisis here, ok? It's not funny! I'm falling in love with some guy and it fucking terrifies me!"

"Okay, okay, calm down. I'm not going to laugh at you. Though maybe I should - you were really shitty to me you know."

"You deserved it," Tommy said sullenly.

Teddy looked sad. "Yeah, I probably did. You said he's doing okay though, right? I want him to be happy, even if it's not because of me."

"Yes, he's happy."

"But you're not."

"No."

"I don't know what you want me to say. Do you like him?"

"We've only been dating for like...two months. But yeah. The sex is amazing."

Teddy flushed again. "Okay, well, what happened to freak you out? He didn't ask you to move in our anything did he?"

"No, no nothing like that. Just, um. Katedroppedoutofourrelationshipandit'sfreakingmeout."

"Tommy you know I can't understand you when you talk that - Kate? Are you dating Noh-Varr?"

"Congratulations, Altman. You should be a detective."

"Wow. So how's that going?"

"I just told you!"

"Right, yeah. So you were having some freaky threesome relationship with him and Kate - totally hypocritical, by the way, and now it's just you and Noh-Varr, and you're scared."

"...essentially."

"He's not hurting you, is he?"

"No! Christ, why do I ever ask anyone for advice? It's just - fuck. Billy's been gay forever, and he's already done the whole my-boyfriend-is-an-alien thing, no offense, and I just. I don't want to be a cheap copy of him. I don't want to be 'the other gay twin.'"

"But you're not gay. Or at least you're not _just_ gay. You still like girls, right?"

"Well, yeah. It's just - well, Noh-Varr's a guy."

"So what?"

"What?"

"Tommy, when have you ever cared what people thought of you? So what if people say you're gay? You know who you are, and you've never let yourself be defined by other people. Trust me – I'd know. You've a big enough personality to stand on your own. So if you're serious about wanting Noh-Varr, don't let that stop you.”

“That's...actually really good advice. Thank you.”

“Sure. I don't suppose, since you're here, you'd buy something?” Teddy asked, with a grin.

“Do you have the new Red Hood and the Outlaws volume?”

“Yeah actually – it just came in.”

“Shut it, Altman, I see that smile. Get me some classic comics too – I don't know if Noh-Varr's ever read them, but if he hasn't I want something easy to jump into.”

“Okay. I could get him the original Batman Incorporated. That's good. And Batman and Son, so he'll know who Damian is. And some of the Robin trade paperbacks, for Tim. I'm assuming you're going to show him RHAO? I should probably throw in some Nightwing too...shit, then there's Superman, and that's just DC -”

“Whatever. Just get them.”

Teddy pulled an obscene amount of comics off the shelf, but Tommy didn't complain. As long as he didn't tell anyone how much of a comic nerd Tommy secretly was. That was Billy's thing. Teddy triple bagged his purchases, so they could withstand some jostling from super speed.

“Thanks. And Altman – take care of yourself, okay?”

Teddy burst out in a sheepish grin, and Tommy was reminded of a particularly pathetic puppy he'd seen at one of his last in-house consultations. He couldn’t believe he'd let Altman fuck him. At least if he had to be gay, he was getting some standards now. Speaking of which, was it Friday yet?

xxx

Tommy was more than shocked to find out that Noh-Varr apparently lived in their old team warehouse-cum-lair. It made sense, in a way. Noh-Varr wasn't exactly allowed on Earth, so if he was going to live somewhere, it needed to be off the grid. And as far as Tommy knew, none of the adult Avengers had known where their hideout was – it had been their secret place.

He stepped up to the nondescript rusted door, and casually brushed his hand over the brick. A section of the wall slid back, revealing a sleek, black surface. Tommy pressed his hand into it, and recited his sixteen digit pass code.

After a few seconds pause in which Tommy wondered if the old system was even hooked up any longer, a metallic voice said, //Underlying architecture pass code accepted. Plex systems upgraded to recognize Tommy Shepherd aka Speed. Please enter.// The door popped open.

“Er...thank you?” The warehouse had never _talked_ before.

He walked in, the door closing behind him. Honestly, he had no idea what he'd been expecting, but whatever it was, he hadn't been expecting _this_. The entire warehouse had been opened up – instead of an apartment style living space, with a large communal center room, the entire space had been cleared away, walls knocked down, so that there was a large, two-story space that took up most of the building. There looked to be an apartment at the very back, but Tommy was honestly too busy staring at everything else to really pay attention to it.

There were _spaceships_ in here. A few smaller, obviously one man crafts, in various states of dismantling, and a larger, sleek craft to one side, which Noh-Varr was currently lifting with one hand while he worked on something underneath it. Had Noh-Varr always been that strong? And he looked – damn. He was working in nothing but a pair of skin-tight green and white shorts, his muscles straining as he held up the ship, sweat trickling down between his shoulder blades. Tommy had the disturbing urge to lick him.

//Noh-Varr, you have a guest.// the voice rang out again. It was slightly creepy.

“Le'vil? Del nah ischt – oh! Hello, Tommy. Give me just a moment.” He did something complicated looking with a white hot torch that Tommy avoided looking directly at. Then he set the ship down gently and turned around, flipping up his welding visor.

“Wow. You. Wow.”

Noh-Varr smirked. Clearly Tommy wasn't hiding his leer at all. Which, really, it was those damn shorts. He couldn't think straight when those shorts were practically molded to Noh-Varr's cock. He might as well have been welding naked. Mmm.

He came over to Tommy, close enough that Tommy could feel the heat radiating off his body. Even covered in sweat, Noh-Varr didn't stink – he smelled...edible. So it really wasn't a surprise at all that Tommy stood on his toes and grabbed Noh-Varr's hair, yanking him down for a passionate, open-mouthed kiss. The Kree tasted _amazing_ , as usual. Tommy was considering not going out to eat at all, and just having sex, right here on the cement floor. It was Noh-Varr, so it would be wonderful.

The Kree made a vibrating sound in his throat – not quite a purr, but still sexy. “I thought we might have this problem. So I arranged to have our dinner delivered. I hope that is okay?”

“Fantastic.”

Now that he didn't have to worry about his clothes, Tommy practically surged forward, pressing himself again Noh-Varr, his hands roaming all over Noh-Varr's muscled back. These weren't like Altman's muscles, no, these were real muscles that the Kree got by lifting spaceships and doing other impossibly manly things that really shouldn't have impressed or turned Tommy on but really, really did anyway.

Noh-Varr was the one who broke the kiss. “We need to eat, Tommy. Then we can have sex. That's how it works, right?”

Tommy laughed. “God I'm so easy. No. Well, I mean yes, that's how it works, but that's not how you're supposed to think about it.”

“It isn't?” Noh-Varr cocked his head to the side. “But I want to have sex.”

Tommy gave up. “Food?”

Noh-Varr's whole face lit up. “Yes! Come with me, if you will. It is all laid out in my apartment.”

He headed for the small door that Tommy had briefly noted upon his arrival. Tommy looked around a bit, but mostly his eyes were glued to Noh-Varr's fantastic ass. Someday he'd convince Noh-Varr to let him top. If he could stop shutting down any time Noh-Varr's ridiculously talented tongue touched his body, that is.

“Sit here,” Noh-Varr said – he'd been maneuvered into a chair at Noh-Varr's sparse kitchen table, “and I'll be right back.”

Tommy looked at the table, where two long, elegant oval bowls were sitting, covered with a glowing blue force field. They were filled with a sort of gray stew. It looked...interesting. There was some kind of large brownish-gray chunk of something in the middle; like meat would normally be in Earth dishes, but this wasn't meat. It almost looked like...fungus. Like from the side of a tree. That was just weird, but he'd promised he would try it.

“Having second thoughts?” Noh-Varr asked cheekily. He'd not bothered to put on a shirt, just a pair of jeans that hung obscenely low on his hips. He looked edible; far more edible than the food.

Noh-Varr sat down, and hit a switch under the table. The field disappeared from around the bowls, and Noh-Varr handed him a long, elegant spoon. It was pure white, except for a small streak of black down one side. Now that he noticed it, he saw that there was also a streak across one side of his bowl.

“Kree utensils are designed to be the purest possible in form and still retain function. One flaw is added to all Kree workmanship, for there is no Art without flaw.”

“That's...a cynical way to look at art.”

Tommy dared a taste of the stew. It was...strong flavored. Musty, and yet...not unpleasant. The fungus – it was definitely fungus – had a sort of woody taste to it, but was cooked enough to be easily cut with the spoon. It reminded him of meat, in a way, if trees had flesh. It wasn't something he'd want to eat every day, but it wasn't bad.

Noh-Varr shrugged. “We are not a creative culture, as you humans are. We understand beauty, in a way, but it is all form and purpose. I have begun to appreciate chaos, since landing here.”

There were glasses of water, but also a sparkling, light green beverage, which proved to be alcoholic in nature, and strong enough to affect Tommy's metabolism. It was exceedingly sweet, and balanced out the rough and musky taste of the meal.

Tommy grinned. “Don't let Discord hear you say that. He'll try to convert you to the church of Loki.”

“Loki? I've fought him before.”

“And you survived? He must not have been trying very hard.”

“How do you know this?”

Tommy looked away for a moment. “Loki is Billy's magic teacher.”

“Your brother is being taught by a supervillian? How is that a good idea?”

“There isn't anyone else to teach him. He has chaos magic. He certainly can't learn from our mother.”

Noh-Varr shuddered. “No.”

They'd finished off the stew by then, and Noh-Varr took the plates away, setting them carefully by the sink. He then brought out a desert pastry – light, flaky crust filled with a chocolate pudding and topped in crème.

“This is Kree?”

“No. We rarely have desert, and we have nothing that compares to a good human chocolate.” Noh-Varr smiled. “But it is my favorite. I made it myself.”

Tommy took a bite, and almost moaned. It was orgasmic. “You _made_ this? How?”

“I watch a lot of Earth television.”

“Can I keep you forever?” Tommy asked, half kidding.

Noh-Varr looked at him intensely. “That could be arranged.”

“What? You – you really mean that?”

The chocolate lay forgotten in front of him as Noh-Varr stalked around the table and sunk to his knees, pulling Tommy in for a brutal kiss. “I want you,” he said, in that husky voice.

It wasn't hard for Tommy's brain to switch tracks, especially not to that. “Mmm.”

“I know Kate isn't here, but I really want to fuck you; just the two of us,” Noh-Varr said in his ear, words hot and heavy and full of lust. Tommy had time to register that Noh-Varr slurred his 'r's' more when he was horny, before his brain basically shut down under the skill of Noh-Varr's fingers.

“I-oh-could, um – ah, god – yeah, I could be convinced of that.”

Noh-Varr had picked him up and sped them to his bed by the time that Tommy had finished his sentence. Impressive. Tommy was faster, but there was something to be said about applied strength. And Noh-Varr's muscles were firm and hot under Tommy's hands, under his _tongue._ Noh-Varr made more noise when it was just the two of them. He wasn't sure if it was because Kate wasn't there, or because his attention wasn't split between two lovers, but Noh-Varr hummed and groaned and rumbled and hissed things at him in at least three different languages. Tommy loved it.

He had to talk Noh-Varr out of being gentle. They hadn't been gentle before, but now that they were alone, Noh-Varr acted like he was afraid of scaring Tommy off. Tommy didn't know how to tell him that wouldn't be a problem, except to yank the other male's clothes off and bite at his collarbone. He snarled in Noh-Varr's ear and gripped his hair as hard as he wanted Noh-Varr to grip his. He wasn’t breakable.

“ _Fuck me,_ ” he said finally, when it didn't look like Noh-Varr was getting the message.

“Hnnn....yes.” Noh-Varr's breath was hot against Tommy's chest.

There wasn't as much prep this time around. That could have been because Tommy snarled and swore and kicked Noh-Varr's hand when he went back for lube a second time. So Noh-Varr snarled back, and fucking _mounted_ him, face to face this time, and fucked him until Tommy saw stars and couldn't even focus on the fact that he was most _definitely_ having some kind of gay crisis. At the same time he didn't care, because if doing this meant that he was gay then fuck it, because this was _fantastic_.

They ground together and fucked, being as loud as they wanted, because there was no one around to hear. Then they rested together for a little while on Noh-Varr's enormous bed – which was just a mattress on the floor, but it was big and comfortable – before Noh-Varr showed him that Kree super soldiers _could_ compete with speedsters in the bedroom, if they really put their mind to it.

Several rounds of mind blowing sex later – during one of which Noh-Varr insisted that Tommy fuck his face, and god _damn_ Noh-Varr could take cock – and they both collapsed on the mattress, exhausted in the most satisfying way possible. Noh-Varr wasn't speaking English at that point, and might not again until the next morning if the way he was babbling on in Kree was any indication. Tommy didn't mind. He thought about getting up and taking a shower and going home. He usually napped on Kate's bed for an hour or so before going home, and he really wasn't sure what he was supposed to do here. It wasn't like he and Noh-Varr were really dating. Were they?

Noh-Varr's steel grip closed around his arm when he tried to slide out of bed.

“Na'an,” he growled.

Tommy was fairly certain that meant no. “You want me to stay?”

His answer was almost three hundred pounds of Kree deciding to snuggle with. Noh-Varr pulled him across the bed and into his arms, where he rested his head on Tommy's chest and _purred_. Tommy looked down at him and just snorted. This was more than a little awkward, but apparently Noh-Varr didn't feel the same way. He looked blissfully happy. Well, maybe they were dating. And either way, Tommy didn't really feel like moving, and the mattress was comfortable, and Noh-Varr was really warm.

He pulled the comforter up over them, yanked over Noh-Varr's pillows. He squirmed a bit to get comfortable – Noh-Varr was heavy – before finally finding a comfortable position and dropping off.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Apparently Kree super soldiers didn't need as much as much sleep as Tommy did, because Noh-Varr was awake, freshly showered, and making breakfast by the time Tommy managed to crawl out of bed. The Kree had left him out a pair of boxer shorts and a t-shirt out for him, though he didn't bother with the shirt because it was ridiculously large on him. He stumbled out into the kitchen, feeling grimy from not having taken a shower before sleeping, though he was enjoying wearing Noh-Varr's underwear.

Noh-Varr put down a cup of coffee in front of him, along with a sugar bowl made of the same scientifically flawed ceramic as their dinnerware last night, and a half gallon of sugar free vanilla almond milk, which Tommy just raised his eyebrow at.

“Cow's milk makes me ill,” Noh-Varr said with a shrug. “Species incompatibility. There are several foods I can't eat – hot dogs cause the most _visceral_ reaction - but most things that are poisonous to humans I can digest with little difficulty.”

“Huh.”

That was about all the conversation Tommy was up for before his third cup of coffee, but when Noh-Varr set a plate of food in front of him, he moaned in gratitude. Then he looked at it and saw that the bacon was turkey bacon, the eggs were only egg whites, and the bread was whole wheat toast. It was all weirdly healthy. Couldn't Noh-Varr digest anything? So what was all this?

Though, taking a bite, it was actually delicious.

“Kate insisted that I start eating better. It's habit now. And it's good for you, though it doesn't make any difference to me, biologically.”

“No, it's good. Thank you. Can I have more coffee?”

Noh-Varr filled his cup again, and filled one of his own, drinking it black and hot right out of the pot. Then he drank another one, while Tommy ate his breakfast. He'd pulled his chair around next to Tommy and laid his head on Tommy's shoulder.

“I'm all gross.”

“You smell good,” Noh-Varr countered, taking another sip of coffee.

“Smell is a big thing for you, huh?”

“Mmm.”

“Thanks for having me over. It was – really good. I can't stay though; I volunteer at the youth center on Saturdays.”

Noh-Varr sighed. “Yes. I have to work.”

“Those spaceships out there – is that seriously your job? You get paid to fix spaceships?”

He nodded.

“That's fucking amazing.”

“You think so?”

“Um...yeah. Could I – I mean, um. We could do this again? And you could show me what you do? I'd really like that.”

Noh-Varr grinned. “Tommy, are you asking me out?”

“I – yeah. Yeah, I am.”

“Even without Kate.”

“I _like_ you, Noh-Varr.”

“Good. I like you too, very much.”

“So...next Friday?”

“It's a date.” Noh-Varr leaned in to kiss him, and Tommy let him. It was good – so good they ended up in bed again, and Tommy would have been late for his group, if he hadn't been a speedster. As it was, it was still a near thing.

xxx

Kate met him for coffee that week. He couldn't help being ridiculously happy. Noh-Varr had been texting him all week, just stupid stuff, like what he observed humans doing while he was out, or extremely complex explanations of space repairs he was making. Sometimes he'd just ask how Tommy was, or what he was working on, and he always seemed interested in the answers. It was just – nice. None of the other people he'd dated, or had flings with, had ever really been interested in him. And none of them had been as extremely comfortable with Tommy's mutant powers as Noh-Varr was. As a super powered individual himself, it was just a part of who Tommy was – he didn't see it as something extra, something _wrong_ with him. It was just – nice.

“You look happy.” Kate noted, as she brought over their cups. She'd bought Tommy a pastry – apparently she thought she needed to get back on his good side.

Well, good. Because she did. Tommy sniffed, and accepted the pastry. “I am.”

“So, it's going well then?”

Tommy just glared at her. “You're the one who ducked out. Don't expect sex details from me.”

Kate just waved her hand. “I can get those from Noh-Varr. He likes to brag.”

Of course he did. “Well then, what do you want?”

“To see if you've forgiven me yet. To see if we can go back to friends, and share coffee and bitch about our alien partners.”

“Your girlfriend is an alien?”

“More or less.”

Tommy really didn't want to know what that meant. “You guys planned this?”

“Noh-Varr didn't. I could tell he – liked you. So I thought I'd give you two some space. I didn't plan on meeting America though. She's -”

Kate broke off with the kind of smile Tommy had caught himself making in the mirror this morning. He couldn't be angry at her. “Yeah.”

“So are we good?”

“Yeah, yeah. We're good. But I'm going to tell Noh-Varr to stop giving you details about our sex life unless there's some reciprocation involved. I still like girls, you know.”

Kate laughed. “Fair enough.”

It was good to know some things wouldn't change.

xxx

Dating Noh-Varr was – wonderful. Not that he'd ever admit that. Even under torture. Seriously, Tommy didn't have feelings. Especially not fuzzy, incomprehensible ones that made him just want to melt whenever Noh-Varr did so much as smile at him. There were definitely none of those kinds of feelings.

Noh-Varr had the best date ideas though, even if he didn't really understand that most humans don't just pop over to Mars for drinks and enthusiastic frottage against the center console. Tommy enjoyed it though, and learned a lot more ways to have sex, because Noh-Varr would do it any time, anywhere, including a frantic and rather adrenaline-fueled session on the side of Avengers Tower. They'd had to book it afterwords, and the entire time Tommy kept thinking Noh-Varr's feet were going to unstick from the wall and they'd plummet to their deaths, but it was totally worth it, just to see the look on Thor's face.

They'd ended up reading all the comic books Tommy got, sprawling out across the deck in Noh-Varr's spaceship, because he doesn't believe in living room furniture, and would much rather hang out in his spaceship than any other place in his apartment. Tommy can't blame him – even if he stole the ship (which he _totally_ did) it's really the only piece of home that Noh-Varr has, and Tommy's not going to begrudge him that. Plus, how cool is it that he gets to read comics on a spaceship? His alien is totally the best alien. None of his friends' aliens have _ships._

So after about six months of serious dating, Tommy decides it's time to take an official step and have Noh-Varr over to his place. It's pretty shitty – they have to spray for cockroaches every two weeks, and it's small and old, and crammed with law books from floor to ceiling, but it's Tommy's, and he wants to share that with Noh-Varr. Shut up, he can be sentimental if he wants to.

Except something goes horribly wrong, because it's Tommy, and something always goes horribly wrong. Less than two minutes after Noh-Varr walks in, he starts choking, and before Tommy can even ask what's wrong, he's on the floor, seizing, this horrible white foam coming out of his mouth. Tommy completely loses his shit. What is he supposed to do? He can't take Noh-Varr to the hospital, but he doesn't know what's wrong, and the seizure goes on, and on, and on, and he knows you're not supposed to move people when they're having a seizure but he doesn't know what to _do._

So he calls Kate.

There's laughter in the background, deep, throaty female laughter that Tommy doesn't recognize. Probably America, but Tommy doesn't have time to think about that right now.

“This is Kate.”

“Kate! Kate, I need help! Noh-Varr came over and he startedseizingandidon'tknowwhattodoitjustwon'tstop!!”

“Woah, slow down Tommy. Noh-Varr is having a seizure?”

“Yes!!”

“How long?”

Tommy looked at the clock, and down at Noh-Varr, where he's still shaking violently, and back at the clock again. “Almost threeminutes.”

“Is he turning blue? Is he choking? Can you get him on his side and help him breathe?”

“Yes, no, and I'm doing it right now,” he said, trying hard not to panic, and gently rolling Noh-Varr onto his side, trying not to shudder at the blank, dead gaze of Noh-Varr's eyes as he shook and shook and shook.

“He's foaming at the mouth,” Tommy whispered hoarsely. “He's turning blue. I don't think he's breathing right.”

“Take him to Plex.”

“But you're notsupposedtomovepeople-”

“Tommy! Take him to Plex! Now! We'll be right there.”

“Yeah. Yeah okay.” Tommy said, and hung up.

It was awkward running with Noh-Varr in his arms, especially since he was still seizing, but Tommy managed. He even managed to lock the door behind him on his way out, because he so did not want to have to deal with a robbery on top of everything else. He met a snag at the door to the lair, but screaming at Plex at the top of his lungs seemed to have an effect, because the door popped open without Tommy having to put Noh-Varr down.

“Plex, dammit, where do I put him? Can you look at him?” Tommy didn't even know if the AI worked that way.

//Please place Noh-Varr in the medical bay.//

Tommy just looked around in confusion and more than a little anger at the general room. Where did you look to glare at a disembodied voice?

//The medical bay is located in the back left of the building. It is behind Noh-Varr's ship. We will unlock it for you.//

He sped into the room, which he'd never been in before, and placed Noh-Varr down on the table. Sometime between Tommy's apartment and here, Noh-Varr had stopped foaming, but he was still shaking and his lips were blue. Tommy vibrated with tension, watching for Noh-Varr to take a slow gasping breath, which he didn't do nearly often enough.

//Please step back.//

A circular band at the end of the table turned itself on, emitting a blue light. It scanned back across the table, over Noh-Varr's body. After two passes, the light turned green, and after three more passes back and forth, Tommy realized that the machine was actually doing something. Noh-Varr had stopped seizing except for a few shudders every thirty seconds or so, and his color had improved.

That was about the time that the others arrived. There was a crackle and a flash of blue light, which heralded Billy's arrival, and the door opened less than ten seconds later as a woman, who could only be Miss America, flew in carrying Kate. They were followed closely by Teddy, who couldn't seem to decide whether he should be huge and green, or human and comforting. Teddy and Billy exchanged awkward glances, but Tommy so did not have the energy to deal with their shit right now.

As he'd rather hoped she would, Kate took charge.

“Plex – status?”

//Noh-Varr is recovering from a severe poisoning, Miss Bishop. We estimate his chances of recovery at 99.98%.//

“What was he poisoned by?” Tommy asked, unable to help himself. “He didn't even eat anything!!”

//An institutional grade pesticide was inhaled and also absorbed through the skin.//

“Pestici- oh, shit! My building just sprayed. For cockroaches.”

//That would align with my analysis.//

“Oh my god. I almost got him _killed_.” Tommy felt the walls closing in on him, and took a few shuddering breaths. Billy's hand found its way to his shoulder at about the same time that Kate took his hand gently in hers, and Tommy accepted their comfort wordlessly, even if he also sort of felt he didn't deserve it.

“Do you not spray for cockroaches here, Kate?” Billy asked quietly.

“Not since Noh-Varr moved in. He hasn't complained, and I've never seen a cockroach since he's been here.”

//Noh-Varr's natural pheromones repel his smaller brethren. They are frightened of him.//

“Pretty much anywhere you go in New York people use insecticide,” Teddy said. “Why hasn't he been poisoned before?”

//Noh-Varr has a heightened tolerance to insecticide. As a diplomat, there was a chance he would encounter beings who dealt with pests in a more barbaric manner.//

Tommy snorted, but Plex continued as if he hadn't said anything.

//We believe that whoever applied the insecticide that Noh-Varr came in contact with applied as much as four times the standard amount, and used a higher grade than is normally acceptable in a residential setting.//

Everyone looked at Tommy. He scowled. “I don't spray, my super does. And that doesn't surprise me, actually. It's mutant-only housing; everything we get is against the housing code in some way. They don't care. We're actually building a case against my super right now, and looking into the company he owns, which seems to break similar codes on the housing he owns that rent to low income and minority families – not just mutants.”

“That's horrible,” Kate breathed.

“That's human,” Tommy countered. For a moment, he felt bad saying it, since Kate was the only human there. That didn't change the fact that it was true.

“Do you have an estimate for when he might wake up Plex?” Kate's eyes had narrowed at his comment, and he had the vague worry that she would bring up his indiscretion later. Tommy was just glad that she wasn't bringing it up right now.

//We believe he should awaken no sooner than one hour from now. His system must purge the toxin and restart himself.//

“Let us know when he wakes up, alright?”

//Of course, Miss Bishop.//

“I'm going to stay here.” Tommy said. His face must have done a decent job conveying what he felt, because after some awkward glances, everyone let it go.

“We'll just be in the living room if you need us, okay?” Kate said, and ushered the others out of the room and towards Noh-Varr's apartment.

As they were walking away, Teddy asked, “How did you get Plex to be so nice to you? I came over one time and he wouldn't even acknowledge my presence.”

“Well, you are part Skrull.”

Tommy ignored them after that, and went to go pace in front of Noh-Varr's examination table. He couldn't believe he'd poisoned his boyfriend. They hadn't even officially declared themselves boyfriends yet, and he'd almost killed him!

But Noh-Varr was going to be okay. That was the important thing. He was okay and Tommy could grovel and beg for mercy and everything would be okay.

Tommy paced while he was waiting for Noh-Varr to wake up. He paced and twitched and fidgeted while thoughts flooded through his brain. So when Plex stopped scanning back and forth, and Noh-Varr groaned and his eyes fluttered open, the first thing he did was kiss him. It probably wasn't what you were supposed to do right after you woke up from a seizure, but Tommy needed it. He needed to see and touch and taste that Noh-Varr was okay. That he hadn't - that he was okay.

"Tommy?" Noh-Varr asked blearily, "why are you crying?"

"I love you."

"What?"

"I love you. I almost got you killed and I - I love you."

"I love you too, Tommy. Please don't cry."

"Sorry. I'm sorry."

"I am all right. Sore, but alright."

"Yeah, I can imagine. You had a seizure for more than five minutes."

"Did I? I don't really remember."

"They sprayed my apartment with insecticide. For cockroaches."

Noh-Varr paled. "Human insecticide does not poison me."

"Apparently industrial strength does, when freshly applied. I'm sorry."

"If it is strong enough to harm me - Plex! Scan Tommy for poison residue!"

//We already have. His system shows some wear from repeated poison exposure, but his mutation seems to be flushing the toxin in a reliable manner.//

"I'm being poisoned? I thought it was just because you're part cockroach."

"I am extremely resistant to toxins. Though apparently I need to be more wary of insecticide in the future."

"Plex, can you print out the results of Noh-Varr's toxic exposure and my own toxin levels in some kind of official report? If my super is trying to poison mutants, I think we might finally have a case."

//Of course, Tommy. We will do whatever is required to protect Noh-Varr and his _hala_.//

"Hala?"

Noh-Varr scowled in the general direction of the ceiling. "I will explain that term later. For now, we are dating."

So it was some kind of relationship thing? He'd have to ask Kate later. Or Teddy. Dating was good. He could handle dating. "My alien boyfriend is the best."

"Yes. I am. Could you help me to bed? I am very tired."

"That's probably the seizure too. Oh. And um. Everyone's here, to make sure you're okay. But I can carry you to bed. They can talk to you when you wake up. "

"I don't need you to carry me. I am capable of walking."

"Yeah, but I want to."

Noh-Varr lips thinned into an irritated line, but he let Tommy pick him up. Tommy sped into the bedroom fast enough that no one could see and comment on the fact that he was carrying Noh-Varr, which seemed to console the Kree. He passed out almost as soon as he laid down, so Tommy undressed him to his boxers and covered him with a blanket.

Then he went out into the living room and explained what was going on. He was fine, and Noh-Varr would be fine after some rest, and thanks for coming but get out. Everyone took it well, even if both Kate and Billy insisted on hugging him before they left. Teddy was last, starting at the spot Billy had teleported from with a look of longing on his face.

Tommy must have been going soft, because he said, "You know, Altman, if you call him in about a month, he'll probably take your call."

"In a month?"

"His boyfriend is helping him through some issues. Teaching him how to have fun again. But he doesn't have any interest in dating Billy long term and I think - I think Billy misses you. So. Give him a little more time, and call him."

Teddy didn't seem to know what to say. "I-thank you. Seriously. Thank you."

"Yeah yeah, don't get all sappy on me, Altman. Just make my brother happy."

"I will. I won't hurt him again."

"You'd better not. I'll send my alien boyfriend after you."

Teddy gave him a weary smile. "Yeah. I'm glad you're happy Tommy."

He turned away, and Tommy went back to Noh-Varr. The Kree was deeply asleep, and Tommy was feeling pretty exhausted himself, so he curled up under the covers with his lover, and fell asleep.

xxx

The first thing he woke up to was Noh-Varr's hair in his mouth, his arm thrown over Tommy's chest and his breath hot against Tommy's neck. He rubbed a hand through Noh-Varr's hair sleepily, yawning around strands of surprisingly coarse white hair. Noh-Varr stirred beside him, and said,

"Tommy? You fell asleep with me."

“Yeah. Who knew you were a secret cuddler?”

“You're warm.”

“I'm warm? You're like a furnace.”

“Mmm.” Noh-Varr snuggled - that was definitely the word for what was going on here – up against him. “You should stay more often. I like waking up next to you.”

“Well I'm not going to stay at my place for the foreseeable future. Even if I can burn off the toxins. So I thought...maybe I'd crash here?”

“Yes. Yes, I like this plan.” That was all it took to get Noh-Varr in the mood, apparently, because he shifted from lazily snuggling against Tommy to grinding with purpose, his mouth finding its way to Tommy's collarbone and sucking bruises into the skin.

So Tommy was more than surprised when Noh-Varr fell back on the bed and whispered, "Fuck me."

"You want me to what?"

"You heard me. I know you usually top. Kate told me."

"Normally I'd say she needs to keep her mouth shut, but in this case - fuck yes."

Tommy straddled Noh-Varr's hips and squeezed his thighs. He couldn't help a low moan – it felt seriously good having Noh-Varr between his legs. “Fuck. You feel so good.”

“Mmm. It's been a long time since I've been on bottom, but you don't have to be gentle with me.”

“What was it you said to me? Lube and stretching is important?”

Noh-Varr groaned. “I'm _fine,_ Tommy.”

“Mmhmm.”

It had been a long time since he'd had a man underneath him, and he was pleased to see he enjoyed it just as much he used to. Noh-Varr seemed to enjoy himself too, going by the noises he was making, and how quickly he lost his grasp on English. Tommy could come a lot, but Noh-Varr had incredible stamina. He had to pace himself, so he wouldn't get worn out before they were done. Tommy made sure Noh-Varr came first, before he finally finished, and collapsed next to his lover.

“That was good.”

Noh-Varr mumbled something in Kree.

“Heh. Yeah, I know.”

“Nnnnn...” Noh-Varr pulled Tommy into his arms, and pulled up the blankets around them in a comfortable nest.

It was still early, and Tommy wasn't sure he really wanted to go to bed yet, but he was comfortable, and Noh-Varr was comfortable, and the sex had really worn him out, in the best way. And it wasn't like he wouldn't have lots of other opportunities to spend time doing things with Noh-Varr. He could fall asleep next to him, and wake up next to him, and do _everything_ with him.

He'd never had a stable relationship before. He'd had a string of one night stands, and his fucked up juvie relationship with Lisa, and the weird three-way they'd had with Kate. But he'd never had anything like this. And he actually...really liked it.

Noh-Varr was warm and solid beside him, still murmuring things at him in Kree. It felt – good. He'd never admit it out loud, but Noh-Varr made him feel safe. The big alien lug was exactly what he needed in his life, and he didn't even know it. Until now.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoy it! Please leave a comment if you really liked it! :3


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